How Green Becomes Wood

"There are not too many," Dark said, shutting his eyes as he got out of the car. As hard as he worked to downplay it, his rib did hurt like hell, but he was like a wounded animal, he didn't want to show it. He was honest, though, there were not many bags, so with the one Xander took, with the two he took, to not push himself, since Alec said he wanted to help, it only took one trip.

Daizi was still outside in the backyard, rocking Ivy, who had very recently fallen asleep. Because she was in the backyard, she didn't hear her family come home, so she didn't go inside to greet them.
 
Alec looked around as he put the bags in the kitchen. "I wonder if Mama is out in the backyard," he remarked, noticing her absence immediately. He considered going out to see her. Considered going upstairs to his room. Chose to help Dark put away the groceries. He wasn't in a talkative mood right now, but he knew Dark was hurting, though not how much, and wanted to help before retreating for a little alone time.
 
Luckily for Alec, Dark wasn't feeling particularly talkative either, so he did not initiate conversation. As he put things away, his eyes sort of... dimmed. Like he had gone elsewhere. Besides that, he seemed about the same as he always did, although he might have moved just a tad bit more slowly. When everything was put away, he sighed, poured himself a glass of water, and said, "You should go rest, too."
 
"Okay," Alec agreed. "You should, too. There's a lot to do tomorrow." He turned and headed upstairs. There was a lot to get ready tonight in anticipation of the next day, but first maybe he could have just a little break. Just a little one. He went up to find Xander passed out on his bed. He laid down next to his brother, back to back, and quickly slipped to sleep. Just a little rest. Then they'd both get up and put the finishing touches on both of Daizi's gifts. Mainly, the presentation of them.
 
Dark nodded lightly, but didn't respond verbally. Instead, he went outside to find his wife, and although he wasn't in the mood to talk, he did want to be near her. When she heard the door open, she quickly tucked herself back into her shirt, but she recognized by the footsteps that it was her husband, so she quickly relaxed back down.

"Hey, Goose," She murmured softly.

"Maharban, Spider." He replied, and sat down on the bench so she could snuggle up to him.

"I love you." She shut her eyes as she rested her head against his chest.

"I love you too."
 
Alec eventually woke up and woke Xander up with him so they could finish up their gifts. One was simple. All they had to do was place it in a very big box that they wrapped in a bit of textured fabric that used to be an extra-large shirt. Alec had cut out the main part of the shirt to create a large rectangle, figuring Daizi would find the seersucker fabric more entertaining than a sheet of regular wrapping paper. They had a few more details to work on their second gift. That one they wrapped in an old tablecloth gotten from the same thrift store as the shirt, only the tablecloth was embroidered and probably good to be used as a tablecloth still. Then, feeling a bit like kids on Christmas Eve, they hid the two gifts under their bed and tried to act natural for the rest of the evening. Acting natural was easy for Xander. He was completely spent after the trip to the graveyard and wanted to do little else other than lay in bed wether he was asleep or not.
 
Dark and Daizi sat outside together for awhile, but when Ivy woke up and needed a changing, it was back to buisness as usual, so they both got up, one took Ivy upstairs, the other started on dinner, and the rest of the day went on in the same quiet, heavy way it had for nearly all of the past week.

Come morning, when Daizi woke up, Dark had the window open so she could hear the birds, "Good morning," he murmured, stroking her hair with one hand, "Happy Mother's Day, Spider."

"Mmm... thank you..." She mummured, sitting up right, 'How are you feeling today? Physically."

Despite wanting to lie to her to preserve the day, he said, "About the same as yesterday. It is slow to heal. But I am fine, today, because today is a good day."

"And how are you emotionally?" She was whispering, Ivy was still asleep.

"I get to celebrate my wife today," He said, kissing her lips, "I am doing wonderfully."

She kissed him back but then got out of bed, "Well, let me brush my teeth before you kiss me again. But do kiss me again. It is wonderful way to wake up."

"What ever you say, my darling." Dark replied with a little grin, waiting where he was until she had finished her morning routine, and then, for the maybe 20 minutes they had left before Ivy woke up, if they were lucky, they got to spend time just as a couple. Then, Dark changed Ivy's diaper, Daizi nursed her, and she got dressed in a dark green sundress with a black rose print and lace at the skirt's hem, and followed Dark downstairs.
 
The twins had gotten up early, and thanks to Dark's standards, there wasn't much to actually clean, but they tidied what they could. Then Alec had gone out and carefully selected a few flowers from the garden. They'd then worked together to put a different type of flower in every room of the house, filling the house with fragrant smells. Xander had then gone to work on making Daizi breakfast with Alec helping. He was a little slower than normal, but he was managing.

Alec grinned when he heard Daizi coming down. "Good morning, Mama! And Ba."
 
Daizi's face lit up and she smelled all of the different flowers as she came downstairs, "And Ivy," she said merrily to complete Alec's list of good mornings, "Good morning, habibi. Breakfast smells amazing! I hope you two didn't go through too much trouble, I know you're both still recovering."
 
"It's only for today," Alec smiled. "It was no trouble at all, and we'd do it even if it was more trouble because you deserve that much. Here, come sit down! We'll serve you." He pulled out her chair for her and patted it so she'd know he moved it.

"Good morning," Xander said, concentrating on his work.
 
As much as she wanted to argue, Dark gently nudged her forward, so she begrudginly took her seat, "Xander, you still have to promise me you'll take breaks when you need them, okay? It won't be a particularly enjoyable holiday if you hurt yourself further."

"He knows," Dark promised her, going to the kettle to start tea for her. "You need not worry, my love."

"I'm going to," She sighed, hugging her daughter closely.
 
"Lunch is all on Ba's shoulders, I'm just doing this bit, and I'm almost done," Xander said as he finished up. "It's not too hard. Promise." He brought over the last dish as Alec filled up their cups. "Happy Mother's Day." He touched Daizi's shoulder briefly, giving it the tiniest of squeezes before moving back into the kitchen clean up.

Alec smiled and gripped Daizi's other shoulder. "Happy Mother's Day! The happiest of days to you!" He hurried to help clean up before both twins came to sit down. "Ba will tell you everything we have planned for today."
 
At Xander's touch, brief as it was, she turned her head towards him, wide-eyed. That enough, knowing what that meant for him, made it a great day. "Thank you," she said softly, and then leaned back towards Alec when he came around. "You're all so sweet."

"Our plan," Dark said, setting tea down for her, "is to have a pleasant breakfast and lunch, and then a fancier dinner out in our yard, since, between all of us, it probably is not smart to go out into the world."

"No, probably not," She agreed, "That's okay, I'm just glad to get to spend the day with all of you. We can go to a park some other day."
 
"A park is a lovely idea," Alec agreed. "And you are 'commanded' to relax and do only the bare minimum for the rest of the day! bubble baths, talking to friends on the phone, whatever snacks you want whenever you want... those are your only goals for today."
 
"Okay, okay," Daizi said, and would have held up her hands were she not holding Ivy, "Do you hear your brother, baby? I guess that means I get to play with you all day! And they'll play with you, too." She grinned, standing Ivy up on her lap, "A bubble bath does sound really nice, though. Maybe when she goes down for a nap."
 
"You can go whenever you like because you have two and a half people here to watch her for you," Alec reminded her with a smile. "If you want to wait for naptime, that's fine, too, but you have options!"

"Like eating before your food gets cold," Xander reminded her lightly.
 
"I'd definitely rather wait until she's napping," Daizi said, taking a few bites of her breakfast, "It's mother's day. What's the point of going off to be alone and not be with my children? And when I take a bath you," she was speaking to Xander, "can take a rest. And this is absolutely delicious, thank you."
 
Daizi grinned crookedly, "Of course you are, habibi. If you want, I will read you a story and everything." She took a sip of tea and rested her chin on her hand, "But, really, I just know you need time to rest, and if you take that time when I'm doing something else, it means you won't be able to criticize yourself for it."
 
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